Anime fans are eagerly awaiting the release date of the second half of Sword Art: Alicization Part 2 after watching the climactic arrival of Asuna into Underworld. Unfortunately, the release date was originally scheduled for the spring of 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic has caused the premiere date to be delayed until later in summer 2020.
The Japanese TV show has had multiple TV broadcasting breaks. The first followed March 31, which is when Sword Art: Alicization Episode 24 airs in Japan.
The second half, War of Underworld, returned during the fall 2019 anime season. Part 2 will go on yet another broadcasting break from January through March only to return in the spring of 2020 for the finale. (Please see below for the exact date.)
Streaming sites Crunchyroll, FUNimation, HIDIVE, and Hulu have confirmed that they will be streaming the episodes of the last season of the Sword Art Online: Alicization anime.
In the past, animation studio A-1 Pictures confirmed that Sword Art Online Season 3 will be composed of four cours. The French word cour is a three-month unit of broadcasting time based on the physical seasons.
Before SAO: Alicization began airing, Matsuoka Yoshitsugu (the Japanese voice of Kirito) had mentioned that SAO: Alicization’s four cours would be “split into 2 x 2-cour parts.” Therefore, SAO Season 3 is a split-cour anime, which is when a single anime season takes a long broadcasting break but is still considered a single season.
The anime production companies made it clear they intend on animating the entire Sword Art Online story. Similar to how Attack On Titan Season Part 2 is not called Attack On Titan Season 4, Sword Art: Alicization Part 2 will also likely not be called Sword Art Online Season 4.
Instead, that label will probably belong to the future Sword Art Online: Unital Ring anime, which adapts the final story arc of author Reki Kawahara’s Sword Art Online light novel series.
What will the number of episodes be for the second half? For Part 1 the official website lists eight Blu-Ray/DVD box sets, with each volume containing three episodes. Assuming Part 2 follows suit, that means Sword Art Online: Alicization 2 should also have 24 episodes.
The final part of the Alicization story arc is being called the “Last Season” by the official website. The opening (OP) theme song music will be “ANIMA” as performed by ReoNa. The artist previously performed the second ending (ED) for the Alicization anime.
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Updated July 2, 2020: Added Sword Art Online Alicization – War of Underworld Part 2 trailer.
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Updated June 8, 2020: SAO: Alicization final season release date confirmed!
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Updated April 10, 2020: Sword Art: Alicization Part 2 delayed!
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Updated March 20, 2020: Confirmed streaming sites.
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Updated February 25, 2020: Added the exact date for the Sword Art Online: Alicization Final Season anime.
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Updated February 12, 2020: Added preview trailer.
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Updated February 10, 2020: Added Final Season OP.
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Updated December 28, 2019: Added release time frame for final fourth cour of Alicization anime.
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Updated September 6, 2019: Added exact release date and new trailer video.
This article provides everything that is known about Sword Art Online Season 3 Part 2 and all related news. As such, this article will be updated over time with news, rumors, and analysis. Meanwhile, let’s delve down into what is known for certain.
Sword Art: Alicization 2 story summary
Warning: Minor spoilers contained in the following plot summary/synopsis.
Sword Art: Alicization Episode 24 ended on a cliffhanger since it is adapting the final chapters of light novel Volume 14. Assuming that Episode 25 of Sword Art: Alicization 2 opens with Volume 15, the story will shift back to the real world and show what happened leading up to events on Ocean Turtle.
Sinon will also be competing against a player named Subtilizer in the fourth Bullet of Bullets tournament of the Gun Gale Online game. It turns out Subtilizer is somehow connected to everything happening.
Meanwhile, Kirito is recovering from the aftermath of the battle against Administrator Quinella. Alice takes Kirito to visit her hometown of Rulid Village. Alice must rally the people of the Human Empire together in order to defend against the looming invasion by the Dark Territory.
Asuna eventually dives down into Underworld to rescue Kirito and to prevent the invaders from taking Alice. But the invaders trick American gamers into joining the war and the Japanese gamers are outnumbered since it’s the middle of the night. Now, it’s a full-on war between the sides that transcends both reality and the virtual world.
The second half of Sword Art Online Season 3 Part 2 release date confirmed for July 2020
In September 2019, it was announced that Sword Art Online Season 3 Part 2 will premiere on October 12, October 2019. The anime then went on a second hiatus at the end of December 2019.
It was eventually announced that the final fourth cour of the Alicization anime would air on April 25 2020, the spring 2020 anime season. However, due to the SARS-COV-2 coronavirus pandemic the Sword Art Online: Alicization Part 2 release date for the final cour was delayed to July 11, 2020, the summer 2020 anime season.
Part 2 has 23 episodes, which means the entire adaptation will be 47 episodes in total.
That means Sword Art Online: Alicization 2 will finish airing with Episode 47 in September 2020. Stay tuned!